Internal Communication blog and movement IC Kollectif closed out 2016 by asking a number of experts around the world the following question:

What would be your greatest hope for the internal communication profession for the year 2017? 

This year, I have had the fortune to work with some excellent communication practitioners. Through IABC and CEB I have also met IC leaders from a range of industries. Common to many of the conversations have been two opposing ideas: we need to manage new challenges facing the world of work, and we still need to improve our core practice.

I thought about how the past year has presented new challenges for communication.

Life in organisations requires us to continue to adapt. At the intersection of the technological, social, and geopolitical shifts of 2016 is a revolution in work. The World Economic Forum describe this as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the face of these factors, how do communicators look forward, when so much time is spent in the trenches where the battles of value creation, tactical execution, and the push for strategic influence are fought.

My hope for our profession in 2017 is that we develop our practices in ways that contribute: creating connections, cutting through complexity, and growing empathy.

The breadth of responses from communicators including Shel Holtz, Claire Watson, Jim Shaffer, Liam Fitzpatrick and Rachel Miller provides an optimistic take on how we tackle the big picture and the detail of our practice in the new year.

Read my full response, along with 25 others at ICKollectif.com